Ping An profit falls as market decline hurts investment returns

[BEIJING] Ping An Insurance (Group) said profit fell 7.4 per cent in the first quarter, as declines in China’s stock market dented investment returns.

Net income dropped to 25 billion yuan (S$4.6 billion), from 27 billion yuan a year earlier, the Shenzhen-based company said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Tuesday (Apr 28).

Operating profit, which the insurer says better reflects performance by stripping out short-term investment volatility and one-time items, rose 7.6 per cent. 

China’s benchmark CSI 300 Index slid almost 4 per cent during the quarter, weighing on the value of insurers’ stock portfolios after the industry expanded equity holdings last year.

Listed Chinese insurers’ net income likely dropped an average 20 per cent from a year earlier, while their new business value is expected to have grown at least 15 per cent amid solid demand for savings products, according to Kaiyuan Securities. BLOOMBERG